In DE 39 15 784 C1 there is described a wire shaping apparatus which can be used for (limited) threedimensional bending of wire workpieces. In addition to the winding tools (88, 90) and bending tools (86, 142), it comprises another bending tool (92) in a rotating and displacing head forming a tool holder (74) which is replaceably inserted at the lower end of a spindle or shaft (12), for example of a CNC controlled spiral spring winding machine. This enables the bending and winding operations to be carried out directly at the nozzle of a special wire guide (50). This multifunctional tool (92) has four operating zones (108, 110, 112, 114) in two operating planes (IV 1 and IV 2), and each zone has two bending edges (108'; 108" and 114'; 114") so that bending can be carried out in all four spatial quadrants by superimposed longitudinal and rotational movements of the spindle (12).
For complicated wire parts, for example those having several bends and winding sections closely following one another, the multifunctional bending tool (92) is in many cases unable to be moved with its active bending edges to the bending point and put into operation there on account of lack of space, for example if the already partly formed workpiece stands in the way, with the result that this bending tool (92) is limited in its operational capacity so that the above-mentioned apparatus can only be used for producing relatively simple three-dimensionally shaped wire parts.